


Near Death Experience

by beautywithin16



Category: Taggart (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Post Dead Reckoning, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29731338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautywithin16/pseuds/beautywithin16
Summary: Post Dead Reckoning: Sometimes you need a near death experience to face your feelings.
Relationships: Michael Jardine/Jackie Reid, Mike Jardine/Jackie Reid





	Near Death Experience

**Author's Note:**

> Not surprisingly, “Dead Reckoning” is one of my favourite episodes (I’ve always loved the ending). I’ve wanted to write my own follow up for a long time and now I finally have. Please enjoy!

A moment after Michael had left her, Jackie realised that she was cold.

No, not cold, _freezing_.

She supposed that being in cold water would do that to you.

Jackie shivered and let out another breath before she got up to join the others. As Stuart noticed her, he smiled in relief, causing her to smile back.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Stuart said.

“Thanks,” she said before she noticed that Peter Letham was also wet. “What happened to him?”

“Well…Mike was angry when Letham tried to lie to us and told us that you’d had an accident,” Stuart explained. His boss hadn’t been the only one angry, Stuart wasn’t sorry to have seen Letham punched.

_This is starting to become a habit_ , Jackie thought as she remembered DI Skinner. Though Michael had never confirmed that, let alone that she was the reason for it. Jackie shivered, this time not entirely from feeling cold and wet.

“Are you alright?” Stuart asked, concerned.

Jackie nodded, “Just cold.”

“You should probably get dried.”

“So should Michael,” she said just as Michael was approaching them.

“I should what?” Michael asked.

“You’re both wet,” Stuart replied.

“No need to state the obvious, Fraser,” Michael said dryly.

“Shouldn’t you both get dried and change clothes?” Stuart suggested.

Michael faced Jackie, “He’s right, you should head back to Argyle house, warm yourself up.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“We need to get Letham to the station.”

“I know, but do you really want to go back looking like _that_?” she asked.

Michael glanced at his wet clothes, the coldness he’d been trying to ignore was now at the centre of his mind and he suppressed a shudder.

“Alright, but we’ll all have to go,” Michael said finally, conceding that they were right. But they would have to be quick.

When they reached Argyle house, they were met with a shocked and angry Heather Robbie as she realised that Letham had been the killer. But she allowed Michael and Jackie to dry themselves and get changed.

Luckily for Jackie, she was able to get changed into her own clothes, and she happily welcomed a hot drink from Heather. The door opened, and Jackie smirked as Michael walked in wearing the standard Executive Adventures clothing.

“It suits you,” she teased, laughter in her eyes.

Michael smiled, just happy to see her teasing him. “How are you?”

“Better now that I’m dry. What about you?”

“It’s nice to be out of that wet suit.”

Jackie smiled, “Do you want something to drink?”

“Best not, we really do need to go,” he said regretfully. Jackie was about to finish off her drink when Michael continued, “You can stay though. Actually, I think you should take a couple of days off. I doubt McVitie will mind.”

“I’m fine, Michael.”

“I know, just think of it as a nice reward for going undercover.”

Jackie nodded, not completely happy with the time to herself, but accepting it nonetheless. Michael faltered slightly, wanting to ask her if she’d be okay on her own. But he knew her well enough to know what the answer would be, regardless of if it was true or not.

“I’ll see you then,” she said.

“Of course,” he said somewhat awkwardly. He stared at her for a moment, as if needing the extra confirmation that she was alive and well.

“Michael?”

“I’ll see you, Jackie,” he said before he left her.

Jackie drank in silence as she played over the day’s events, wondering if it had affected Michael more than he was letting on.

* * *

Back at home, Michael was grateful to be wearing his own clothes. Unfortunately, now he was home, the thoughts he’d kept at bay were now haunting him.

She could have died.

_Jackie_ could have died.

As soon as he had seen the plaster on her head, he’d secretly started to worry about her. It just kept getting worse, every time the phone rang out, the fear he’d felt when Fraser had informed him about the accident. At least there had been some relief then that it hadn’t been Jackie.

But none of that had compared to today when they couldn’t get hold of her, when they’d heard her screams. Michael was sure the memory would stay with him forever. The rage at finding Letham had quickly turned to panic as he looked down at the crashing waves with no sign of Jackie. It had been pure instinct to jump in after her.

Thank God he had been able to find her.

If he hadn’t…

Had the worst happened, it would have been his fault. It had been his idea for Jackie to go undercover in the first place.

He had to snap out of this, Jackie was fine, she was safe. There was no need to dwell on what could have happened.

But he couldn’t help but think about it, today could have so easily gone the other way. Jackie could have been killed and she’d never know…

Michael let out a breath, as dramatic as it sounded, he wasn’t sure how he could cope without Jackie. He needed her too much, a need that went far beyond a professional capacity.

Telling her though, was its own kind of terrifying prospect.

* * *

As she sipped her hot chocolate, Jackie flicked through the TV channels, finding nothing worthwhile to watch. Everything that had happened that day had not strayed from her mind. It had been difficult to occupy herself ever since she returned home.

And she had a couple of more days of this to look forward to.

_Oh, joy._

The moment that had played most on her mind was when she had thanked Michael. It had not been what she had intended to say. For a split second, she had felt emboldened only for it to quickly vanish as she had stared at him.

She sighed as she wondered if she would ever say the real words, the words that reflected just how deeply she felt for him. Or would she wait for Michael in the hope that he might say something?

And how long could she wait for that possibility?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang, Jackie wasn’t surprised to see Michael when she opened the door, she wordlessly let him in.

“I just thought I’d see how you’re doing,” he said once she closed the door.

She shrugged, “I’m alright. Can I get you something?”

He shook his head, “I’m okay.”

She gave a small smile before they entered the living room.

“Everything wrapped up then?” she asked once they’d sat down on the couch.

“Yeah,” he replied before telling her everything that had happened once they’d left her. Then they both explained how they had figured out who the real killer was. Afterwards, a brief silence hung over them, not a completely comfortable one.

“Thanks again, Michael.”

“Don’t mention it,”

“You have a good sense of timing,” she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Michael’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, “Not really. If I did, I’d have gotten there before you went into the river.” He tried not to think about what he could have found. “Actually, I should apologise.”

Jackie blinked in surprise, “For what?”

“I should have gotten you out when you wanted me to. If I had, today wouldn’t have happened.”

“Michael, it’s not your fault,” she said softly. “We both did our best.”

“Sometimes that’s not enough.”

“It was today,” she reminded him.

“It almost wasn’t,” he said firmly. “If we hadn’t gotten there when we did…” he briefly closed his eyes, unable to voice the thought that terrified him.

Jackie regarded him for a long moment as she registered the guilt on his face, she was starting to get an idea of what he’d been feeling the past couple of days.

“I almost lost you,” he said quietly.

“But you didn’t, I’m right here.”

The look in his eyes from before he left her at Argyle House returned, almost unnerving her. Jackie turned away and went back to her hot chocolate, almost grimacing at how cold it had gotten. She faced Michael again and was surprised to see his expression unchanged.

“What?” she asked.

“Just…I’m not sure what I’d ever do if I did lose you,” he confessed.

Jackie took a breath, momentarily unsure of how to respond. She smiled, “I think there’s one thing you could do for me.”

“What’s that?”

“The next time you send me undercover, don’t make it at an outdoor adventure type place.”

Michael chuckled, “Deal.”

She opened her arms to him and they hugged, both taking comfort (and pleasure) in the embrace.

“It should be me comforting you,” he said after a moment.

Jackie smiled ruefully before she let go of him, “Maybe we both needed that.”

“Hmmm,” he hummed in agreement as he regarded her carefully and Jackie found it difficult not to say the words she’d almost told him earlier that day.

“Michael…” she trailed off; she dropped her gaze as she found her courage faltering again.

Perhaps it was for the best, at least she wouldn’t risk the one thing that meant the world to her.

Michael let out a breath, causing Jackie to look at him again. “You know, days like today are good reminders of how important people are to us.”

She nodded, both in agreement and for him to continue.

“They can even be good opportunities to tell those people how we really feel,” he continued.

“Can they?”

Michael nodded, “Unless that person doesn’t want to hear it,” he said almost shyly.

“Well, I think it’s good to know how people feel about you.”

Michael stared at her for a moment, with a couple of glances to her lips, resulting in Jackie having butterflies in her stomach.

He slowly leaned forward, cupped her cheek and carefully met his lips with hers.

She smiled as the kiss ended, slightly dazed as she felt Michael stroke her cheek.

“I love you,” he whispered.

From her smile and the way her eyes lit up, Michael realised that she’d been waiting for him to say that for a while.

Possibly for as long as he’d had feelings for her.

“I love you, too,” she whispered back.

Michael smiled before they kissed again. As the kiss deepened, all the anxieties from earlier dissipated.

And Jackie couldn’t help but think it had all been worth it if it meant finally getting together with Michael.


End file.
